London Buses route 78 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. Running between Shoreditch and

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BB ...

, it is operated by

Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...

History

In December 1952, a number 78 double-decker bus was crossing

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

. At that time, the gateman would ring a warning bell and close the gates when the bridge was clear before the watchman ordered the raising of the bridge. The process failed while a relief watchman was on duty. The bus was near the edge of the south bascule when it started to rise; driver Albert Gunter made a split-second decision to accelerate the bus, clearing a drop onto the north bascule, which had not started to rise. The conductor broke his leg, and twelve of the twenty passengers aboard received minor injuries. The driver was later rewarded with a £10 bonus (£306.58/US$416 in 2022 money) for his bravery. On 20 May 2000 it was extended from Peckham Rye to

. The route was retained by Arriva London following re-tendering in 2003, November 2010 and November 2015. New Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double deckers were introduced on 17 April 2011, replacing the existing single deckers. Following the November 2015 tender, new Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City vehicles were ordered with the expectation that they would enter service in November 2015. The first buses of this type to operate in London, the Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City is visually styled on the

New Routemaster The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by W ...

and

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative bu ...

MMC, suggested to be a cost-effective alternative to the New Routemaster for use in the London suburbs. The first of these entered service on 7 December 2015.

Current route

Route 78 operates via these primary locations:Route 78 Map
Transport for London * Shoreditch ''Calvert Avenue'' *

Shoreditch High Street station Shoreditch High Street is a London Overground station located on Bethnal Green Road in Shoreditch in East London. It is served by the East London Line between and with services running either to , or , , West Croydon, , and is in Travelcard ...

* Bishopsgate * Liverpool Street station * Aldgate station *

Tower Gateway station Tower Gateway is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the City of London and is located near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It adjoins the tracks to Fenchurch Street station and is located on the site of a former station called Min ...

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

* City Hall *

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

* Peckham ''High Street'' *

Peckham Rye station Peckham Rye is a railway station in Peckham town centre, South London. It opened on 1 December 1865 for London, Chatham and Dover Railway, LC&DR trains and on 13 August 1866 for London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, LB&SCR trains. It was de ...

''St Mary's Road''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:078, London Buses Route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Southwark Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the City of London Transport in the London Borough of Hackney